Vasto Lorde
by MetaLucario
Summary: Zangetsu's thoughts as his king slowly grows to accept him as his zanpakuto, and come to terms with the pale hollow. The pale sword only want to protect his king after all.
1. Chapter 1

A/n: I started another chapter for Only my King, then decided that I would finish it later because of this idea I got after watching Hell Verse last saturday… Ichigo is so freaking overpowered in that movie… ok, well he always is overpowered. And I'm listening to a ten minute continuation of hichigo's laugh… However, I'm not writing in his dialect because I'm tired and don't want to do the extra work… when he is talking I will though.

anyway, I own nothing all rights go to Tite Kubo

I'm dying. Came the orange-haired-teen's thoughts. Even after everything, I'm dying. Pathetic king. I told him not to die. And here he goes, just kicking the proverbial bucket, before I get a say in it. Stupid king.

I see his limp form, just laying there on the side of one of the infinite blue towers. The hole in his chest is a kind of bitter irony, one I laugh at darkly. I'm unable to contain the bubbling hysteria that explodes from my lips. And king echoes it with a half hearted chuckle, trying to make light of the situation in spite of his fear and depression.

"I told ya not ta die, baka!" I yelled at him through my crazed, euphoric agony. I knelt by his side. "An' now i 'ave ta be the one ta save ya! Yer pathetic, king. Get up." I nervously eyed the hole, right where king's heart used to be. I briefly wondered if I could use it too my own advantage in this situation. "King. Get. Up. NOW!" He opened his eyes. That was at least something, I guess. He looked at me calmly, yet with a hint of concealed fear. I caught it simply enough, and rolled my eyes at him. He propped himself up on an elbow, suppressing a grimace. "She's callin' yer name, king. Ya mus' have some o' that' resolve left. It's not like ya ta jus' die. Ya don' ever know when ta give up, why are ya doin' it now?" I reached my pale hand down to lift his tanned chin.

His eyes gazed up at me with new found determination. He clenched his fist the way he does when he makes up his mind to protect something.

"That's more like ya, king." I grinned at him.

"Do what you feel is necessary, I'm not in the mood to die either." The younger-looking "Zangetsu" said from atop his pole, cold steel eyes gazed down on us two.

"King…" I began-

"I know." He stated simply.

"I'm not gonna le' us die. Desert yer honor fer now, ya need me an' I'm not gonna take no fer an answer." I Reached my hand forward, resting it calmly on his chest, right next to the gaping hole that graced his flesh. He grimaced.

"What are you going to do to me?" He asked with barely restrained anger, and obvious fearful caution. I laughed, and traced the hole calmly with a white finger. I laughed more as king twitched, then convulsed beneath my touch. "Damn you! Stop it…. Stop… stop this…. please- I… I..." He stopped speaking as a wave of my reiatsu coursed through his entire being.

"She's callin' ya, king. Don' ignore 'er." I knew this was my trump card. Use his feelings against him. The instinct coursing through me to him was overtaking his clarity of thought.

"She's calling me... She's calling me ...Get Up!" He exclaimed as he got up. he leaned forward into the hand I'd placed on his chest. He convulsed, my cooing in his ear was pulling him closer to me. I could feel control shift till it was equal for us both. He had our body, but I had his mind in my hand. The absence of his heart made it so much simpler for me to control his every thought. He merely listened. Listened, and obeyed. Simultaneously we fought the green-eyed espada. I felt his emotions course through me, and mine through him. His conformed to what I wanted them to, and I felt absolute glee overtake me in this moment of control. Simultaneously we shot cero after cero. Our thoughts were one. He could only think what I wanted him to think. Kill. I am his instinct after all, and I had taken his mind for myself. I had him in my grasp.

Finally the winged pest was on the ground beneath us. As much fun as he was to fight, his reactions were lame; he stared at us calmly after I tore off his arm for Kami's sake. But his comment on becoming hollow like, oh if only he knew the full extent of what was going on; of my existence. It amused me to no end that no one realized king had a hollow within him. I cackled to myself in delighted amusement…

Kill him, Ichigo.I sent the mental command to my counter-part, and practically purred when he obediently fired a cero at the defeated figure.. Mangle him, aibou. He instantly began to bring down his sword. Yes, break every particle of his body. Ichigo was stopped mid-swing by something. I mentally cursed at the quincy boy who was blocking the strike, and told Ichigo to continue regardless of Ishida's presence. He attempted only to be blocked once more.

The other boy's comment to Ichigo about him losing his humanity made me chuckle. Until Ichigo froze for a millisecond. Kill. He went back to trying to mutilate the pale espada, but the damn quincy was still so insistent on getting in my way. Kill him, Ichigo. He's in our way. The orange haired boy growled and threw Tensa Zangetsu, and with unmatched precision the sword imbedded itself in the other teen's abdomen. The worthless quincy was thrown back, and a sudden eruption of blood from his wound eclipsed his pale form as it crashed to the ground. I could feel it, the complete control I had in that very moment. Ichigo was right under my thumb, and willingly killing his own friend. So when that Ulquiorra bastard cut off our horn, and caused my control to fade I was pissed. I tried to maintain my hold, but it faded. How the hell was that damn bat-fairy still alive anyway?! Ichigo came to his senses and his mind went into override; in his self disgust and horror, his mind erased memory of his involvement, and of my return to preserve its remaining sanity. I swore I'd get him. Eventually, Ichigo would be mine.

-—-—-

Next time I spoke with my worthless excuse for a king, he was staring forward with that determined glint in his eyes. Before our body hung a chain, blood falling off on drops of dark crimson. It was attatched to Yuzu. I could feel Ichigo's anger, and the effect of the stagnant air of hell was drawing me out to him. Ichigo cried out to me. It was the instinct reaching out to him, my same instinct that lead me forward to greet his anguished form as it lay in a heap amidst cyan towers. I responded to his cries, calling out in returned anger. As I approached, king clung to me desperately. I hated seeing him like this. He looked so weak. I wanted to tear that Kokuto bastard to shreds of reishi so small that even hell wouldn't be able to reform his body.

"King, wha' do ya wan'? Do ya wan' ta protec' her, er kill 'im?" I lifted his face to stare him in the eye, carefully searching his brown eyes, so full of uncharacteristic malice.

"Both. I want both." His voice was low and laced with rage. I allowed my hand to hover around his chest.

"Good, aibou. Ya thin' ya can deal with it this time?" I pressed, making certain it would be different this time. He nodded, determined. I shot the instinct through him, and we stood up as one. Again we fought simultaneously. I felt his every emotion, his every thought. I could feel him growing closer. He was so close, I almost had him. Almost. We fired ceros at Kokuto, and I goaded Ichigo on further, he attacked viciously. We continued the fight, on and on firing ceros while I slowly drew nearer to Ichigo. He subconsciously latched on to my powers, the instinct overriding his other thoughts. He was so close. Just a second more and I would no longer be suppressed. I would be able to reveal my true identity, that I was the true Zangetsu.

With a sudden flash it was gone. The air of Karakura town felt unnaturally light after all that time in hell, it felt almost wrong. My control faded once again. But I could sense what king was going to do. I knew I'd have my chance.

We were back in hell before the end of the week. Inoue was crying when king left. She seemed to be doing that a lot recently, or at least whenever I saw her. This time, Ichigo fought the rage building in him. I could feel it; this new fear of me. It wasn't like before, the fear of me driving him over the edge before he became a vizard. No, he was afraid of his own anger. And he was going to get us both killed over it. Rukia was rotting on the ground before us, and that Kokuto bastard was laughing. In our inner world, king was desperately trying to push me away as I shot my instinct through his body. I watched him squirm and struggle with some annoyance. I looked at him pointedly before he convulsed again, and I had him again. He transformed once more. Again I had him, but this time was different. He was the one that broke it. Broke the connection, I mean. He cut the horn clean off, and the mask and tattoos just faded to dust. A good call actually, because of the of the guardians desire to eat him as revenge for nearly destroying hell. I admit that maybe I had taken it to far with that, but I had to protect my king from that damn sinner with the half burnt face; and I didn't give a shit what the repercussions were. I wanted him safe and happy. Not the week mess of sobbing orangette that clung to my legs a few days ago. Not the dying, hopeless thing that sat in front of me ready to give up because some espada decimated his heart. I wanted my king. I wanted the stubborn, "I will protect you all from anything and not complain about my own problems," and the tightly gripped bankai with his vizard mask formed on his face. And now, he was calling that back out. That stubborn personality of his. It was a relief. I called out to hell, letting it know that king and I were going to protect it from some zealous sinner ready to destroy the whole place for his own freedom. I almost laughed when it granted king its powers. He would never know that it was me that caused it, and that was fine as long as I could talk to him later. He won the battle and went home, Orihime pulled him into a massive bear hug, and I smiled. Stupid king, when will you finally realize that you love her?

King had gotten his ass beat by Aizen. His persistence amused was my king, always the last one to be standing. Even if he lost, he didn't. He'd always get back up

That "old"(Not so old looking now though) man, Juha or whatever, had to find some excuse to get out of teaching king mugetsu. He couldn't do it without me, and he knew it. So he tried to get out of it. It made me laugh a bit, until he realized king wouldn't give up. So he just stabbed his hand through king, and ripped me out from where I'd been protecting his weakened heart since I'd rebuilt it after the fight with Ulquiorra. Ichigo looked in my direction, and flinched a little. He didn't recognize the mask, so I pulled it off and greeted him.

"Yo king. Didn' forget me already, did ya?" I grinned, his reactions never ceased to be amusing. I wasn't happy about this, teaching him mugetsu; but if it meant we'd live, so be it. I let the imposter use me. It only meant that I'd come back first should king regain his powers later. The whole battle was painful for me, I could see kings emotions throughout it all. At the end, I pulled him to the side before he left the world of inverted towers. Juha had already walked away to scheme; he didn't realize that I had stayed with king. I grabbed Ichigo's arm. "If ya don' wan' ta lose yer powers, ya could do it my way ya know. I don' wan' ta lose any more than ya do, an' I don' wan' ya ta be weakened at all, king. Though knowin' ya, ya'll defy logic and recover yer powers again. If ya do, hurry up about it. I don' wanna wait on ya." I smirked at him a little, and he nodded. His now longer hair stirred slightly. It was truly a good look on him; he looked stronger, if a bit depressed. His expression kind of reminded me of Kira, and it made me laugh a bit. "Don' ya dare lose king. I won' be happy with ya if ya do."

"Don't worry, I won't." He flashed a slight smile, confidence and determination evident shone in his murky brown eyes. I gave him a pat on the shoulder, to which he responded with one of his silent vows. He would win. It was a statement, not a hope. It was king, if he said he'd win he would. Even if he had to let me help, he'd win it, against all odds. Thats just what Ichigo always does anyway.

He'd won. Urahara's timing was perfect, but I could feel it. Ichigo had decided to use mugetsu, and my influence was disappearing. I was scared. if I couldn't supply him powers, we could likely get eaten by some small fry hollow. I lost it. I didn't want king to lose his powers. The desire to do whatever i could to stay and protect him overwhelmed all else, and suddenly, the forgotten hogyoku flew from Aizen's chest just as the sealing kido solidified. It hit king strait in his heart. I saw it dissolve into his body, and it came into his soul, aiming right for me. I caught it, and felt my power grow again. My connection with Ichigo strengthened, and his and my power nearly tripled. His sword changed, I had escaped suppression by Juha. King's body passed out from over exertion, but I knew the little princess would care for his body. For now, I had to heal his spirit.

He stumbled when his mental manifestation formed in his inner world. I caught him before he hit the side of the tower.

"I won." He simply smiled at me.

"Good job, king." I let go of the hogyoku. "We're alive. An' that was pretty freakin' badass, Ichigo. I didn' know ya had it in ya." I smirked, and helped him straighten up and stand. He woozed a bit so I kept an arm around his shoulder to support him.

"Urusaiyo, horse." It was his turn to smirk. "I actually did it with out your interference this time."

"Are ya certain of that king?" I held up his new shikai. The jagged edges of its unsuppressed form glinted in the sunlight. I grinned, there hadn't been a sun in here for a long time. The water was gone too.

"What?" He was still able to be shocked, even after everything else he'd seen and been through, by a minor change in style. I laughed at him. He was staring wide eyed at the sword.

"Remember when I told ya tha' I'm zangetsu? I wasn' lyin' king. The "old man" was yer quincy powers. An' he was suppressin' me all along, but ya've finally accepted me so he can't, tha' an' I had a bit o' help." I looked at the small round object at my feet, its blue-ish energy swirling and cloudy looked like the sky above us.

Ichigo flinched again, then nodded. He'd long since learned to expect anything. I smiled and placed an arm on his shoulder.

"So king, ya one tha war. What er ya gonna do now?" I questioned, still beaming lik a maniac.

"Go home and sleep."

"Loser. Ya got ta have somethin' more interestin' ta do."

"I don't know, I just one two minutes ago, let me find out as I go."

"As you wish kingy." I laughed at him, and gave his head a small pat. this were gonna get interesting from here.

A/N: Woo, I'm done. that was fun to write.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Originally, this was going to be a one shot; however, since so many people liked it I will keep  
going :D. That and I didn't finish my whole idea in one chapter. This will only be a two shot, because it's an AU and I already planned the ending. I just need to read the new mnga as they come out and then write this chapter based losely off the 1000 year war arc that Kubo's writing. I mean lose too, as in i will reference what happened, and since I will post this chapter before he finishes this arc, it might disagree with the ending. Its AU as I said, so its not a big deal, but I want it to be as accurate as possible with the lore…  
-Twenty years. Twenty long years later, after everything with the quincy and Ywatch, after Aizen, after the spirit king, after... everything. After learning Masaki was alive, only for her death to befall her again. After that whole ordeal. All those years faded to memories of better days. Thats right, things had only gotten worse for king after the thousand year war. Karin and Yuzu, and even Isshin had passed on eventually. The twins were hit by a car, and goat-face was eaten by a hollow in his grief. I remember king sitting, sorrowful, lonely in front of a broken mirror.  
"I wasn't strong enough! I couldn't protect them." Only two weeks before, Rukia had died. Ichigo hadn't even been able to stop it. He didn't even realize that he had done it, his grief and guilt sent him into denial. And yet still he put such absolute faith in me.  
I was so disgusted with him. I didn't want his trust like that, not if he was going to sit there in his weakness and only accept me now that he knew I was his zanpakuto. Trust like that was for the weak. King could trust me, that was fine, but that wasn't the problem. There were only two problems with it. He trusted too easily. He would blindly accept anything he was told as truth if it was said with enough determination; Kokuto had proven that. And he hastily forgot that I wasn't just his zanpakuto. Oh, he knew that I was a combination of the shinigami powers inherited from his dad, and his mother's hollow powers, but often forgot that the hollow was significant. That's why I always fought for control before, and would continue to do so now.  
"_They're already dead king, jus' face it ya can't bring 'em back._" I closed my eyes and focused my reiastsu so that it was in perfect resonance with his, and wrapped it around him like a comforting blanket of protection. I willed the undiluted force of my killer instinct to course through him. "_Ya can avenge 'em, however. Do ya wanna make those bastards pay, aibou? Kill tha drivers who hit your sisters? Consume tha hollow tha' wrote yer old man off? Do ya wanna rip 'em apart?_" I cooed softly in his ears. His old fear rose up to mix with this overwhelming trust, this reliance he had on my power and my advice. He was confused.  
"What do you mean? Zangetsu what're you-" Ichigo began, grunting as the wave of raw instinct coursed over, around, beneath and throughout his whole being. The old fear had resurfaced yes, but the bond he had forged with me wouldn't allow him to combat the control I so craved over him. He simply couldn't bring himself to fight back. All that escaped his lips was a partially strangled "Why?" and then he convulsed, unable to fight the urge to rip and tear and kill.  
My ever present hysterics rose with my final victory, Ichigo allowed the transformation to take him. My own gold and obsidian eyes cruelly gazing out of his face, the massive hole in his chest, the splashes of bloodied crimson tattooed on his chest and arms. It was beautiful. I cackled with more glee than I'd felt in a long time as the mask formed on his face, the freezing white reishi hardened around his features was so much more elating than anything I'd felt in a long time. In the inner world, I held him tightly. I whispered to him. Goading. Cooing. Urging him to tear flesh, to mangle the innocent, to rip out hearts and devour them whole, to carve bodies and paint the dead in their own blood. His long orange hair fell in smooth decrescendo as the loud spikes faded to long, smooth strands that flowed quietly in the light breeze as he violently blasted through the wall of the Kurosaki clinic. The street was lined with people. Dead plus souls, small children out playing or walking around with their parents. Some High School Kids were pulling pranks on an elderly couple. And none of them could see the monster out to kill them. They could not see us at all. I cackled madly in my euphoria, enjoying the power I had over the teen.  
_Kill 'em all, Ichigo._ He raised his hand, the cero already forming amidst his clawed, whitened fingers.  
And he'd killed them all. That was yesterday, when he'd bathed in the glorious carnage, and the ever beautiful throes of death. When he'd torn the flesh off of the drunkard that had run over Yuzu and Karin. When his hands became instruments of death, only for my own purposes. He was awake now, the forgotten remains of some small child mangled and shredded beside him. The bones peeking out of the tanned flesh were drowned in sticky blots of crimson. A hand sat, dejected and severed from what small scraps remained of the child's corpse. Some foul smelling fluids, secreted by the small glands and slimy pink organs that were released from the protection of the outer body, streamed along the cold concrete; some of it formed a small pool near kings own hand. I belted out in ecstatic laughter, and he joined in. I forcefully retrieved him into our internal mindscape, and began to run my fingers through his unnaturally long, smooth hair. It felt like silk combined with the softness of chinchilla fur, the dim light reflecting off of the orange strands beautifully resembled a burning blaze of vermilion flame. My hand trailed down to his prominent cheekbone, pitch black nails gently traipsed across in a tender caress.  
"Good Ichigo, tha' was beautiful. Ya really c'n be fun sometimes, ne?"  
I leaned slightly forward and ever so gently touched my lips to his. I smirked at the hopeless look on his face. Memories of the past flew around us, and I silently recalled a few.

"Oi, how long was I out?" Pathetic king, not knowing how worried they'd all been.  
"Ichigo… You're awake?! We were beginning to wonder if you would ever wake! You've been in a coma for six months, baka! You even made Orihime cry!" He was both verbally and physically assaulted by a very irate raven-haired shinigami. She punched him before pulling him into a massive hug. Typical, tha' girl always liked ta beat king up when 'e does somethin' stupid. I rolled my eyes, laughing at Ichigo's perplexed expression.  
"Kuchiki pride, Rukia. That was very unbecoming." Dispite his outer coldness in berating his younger sister, Byakuya looked massively relieved, and even a bit cheerier than his usual self. At the sound of the ruckus, Orihime walked in. King was still too perplexed to see the light in Byakuya's eyes increase. I, however, noted it clear as day as it shone like sunbeam's from the Kuchiki nobleman's eyes. I also noted Ichigo's panic.  
"_Don' worry bout it aibou. Ya simply wore yer body out physically, even if ya did keep yer powers. It still taxed yer energy quite a bit. Think of it as a long term recuperation._" I told him calmly.  
"But still, six months? Zangetsu, how is that even possible?" He questioned desperately. I waved him off  
"_Best go find ou' wha' happened while ya were ou', right_?" I laughed at the expression on his face. Why did king always have to be so endearingly innocent and cute?

This memory, king was sitting calmly by a lake. His vibrant orange spikes looked out of place amidst the cool breeze and gentle rocking of the waves. Byakuya sat beside him, his milky white hoari and scarf flowed elegantly out behind his somber, imperious face. Those violet eyes were calmly focused on the scene of the little auburn haired princess and the raven haired snow queen training together. He inclined his head towards Ichigo.  
"Its mysterious and intriguing to me how she can always smile, even when its obvious she feels so empty and her tears begin to form in those warm gray depths." The cold aristocrat stated. His eyes had lost their hard edge to a gentler shape, and his voice held an uncharacteristic warmth.  
"I've often wondered that myself," came king's softly perplexed sigh of a response. "I've always loved that about Inoue. She helps keep the group calm in even the most hopeless situations. Yet I've yet to find where that hope comes from. I remember the sobbing mess on my porch, holding a limp body, and crying because her brother was badly injured. He died in my dad's clinic that night. Yet she always had a smile on at school, she wanted to appear strong for the rest of us." His voice welled up with pride for his childhood friend.  
"Tell me about this dead brother of hers." Byakuya's tone reached the climax of his intrigue. He desperately wanted to know, despite his calm outward demeanor.  
"He cared for her after the rest of her family died. He was all she'd had left at that point. He was loathe to move on, and his spirit remained there, protecting her. Eventually he degraded into a hollow, and attacked her. I stepped in, and upon regaining some of his senses, he told me to protect her for him from then on." Ichigo's fiercely protective demeanor lit his face the way it always does.  
"You care for her?" It was both a statement and a question. Byakuya felt a bit disconcerted by this notion.  
"_Hey, kingy, cold-hearted Bya-kun has a little crush._" I laughed as Ichigo replied to both of us.  
"I always have, but it can't work. She's still shaken by Ulquiorra's death. And the fact that I killed him still concerns her, especially as she's aware of the monster I can turn into when my anger takes over. She won't admit, but I know she's afraid of me. I don't blame her. I would be too, in her shoes." His voice belied his guilt and sorrow.  
"_Ya do know I can hear ya, right_?" I demanded.  
"She reminds me of my Hisana, that demeanor of hers. I wonder if she's ever been jealous of Rukia, because I'm still alive unlike her brother. Because Rukia doesn't hide that she cares about you. But, still they've become such close friends. Maybe one day they could be more than that." His wistful longing echoed slowly in the calming cold of the wind lifting the ebony thread of his immaculate hair.  
_"Ya hear tha' king. I was right, she does like ya."_ I knew Ichigo didn't requitt her obvious feelings, but I wasn't one to turn down the childish pleasures of saying "_I told ya so._"  
"Stuff it Zangetsu!" King actually yelled out loud. Byakuya was staring at him funny. I cackled a little at the expression.  
"Your zanpakuto must enjoy eavesdropping to frustrate you. ts quite vexing how easily worked up you are." Byakuya thought about senbonzakura's strange antics, and chuckled.  
"You would too if your zanpakuto was half hollow, and tried to make you destroy everything you cared about. Even now that I know; even though I can't help but trust him because of knowing, I still fear him. He still likes to rile me up for amusement. He thinks its cute when I'm scared to death of what he'll convince me to do next." I heard an amused chuckle escape from my lips as he uttered that last sentence.  
"_Not true kingy, I think yer cute all tha time. So innocen' an' naive, yer simply the epitome of adorable an' helpless at all times._" I lightly kissed the soft fleshy cartilage behind his ear.  
"Ugh, thats gross zangetsu. Stop licking me. You're not a dog." He said, mildly repulsed by my "childish" behaviour.  
_"Nope, jus' tha faithful horse to a helpless, lost little king._" I chuckled at him, and heard Byakuya do the same. The older male put a hand on his shoulder in sympathy, but his bemused eyes glistened with laughter.  
"Even if he's a hollow, he obviously cares enough to heal you and save you pathetic life." The Kuchiki head gave king an almost fatherly smile. The aristocrat was obviously remembering that time I saved my worthless excuse for a king from him. Those days were long since past, but I knew the shinigami was still wary of me. After all, the only reason he wasn't dead was because Ichigo intervened  
"He's still one creepy, messed up, insane and altogether unstable partner." Ichigo said, remembering the same battle. I chuckled again.  
"_King, I think ya meant ta say 'one messed up little f*ck._" I smirked at his face. "_Yer so freakin amusin' ta mess with._"  
"Hey! watch your language!" Ichigo yelled indignantly.  
"You know, Kurosaki, that they say the zanpakuto reflect the innermost feelings of their shinigami. Clearly your delinquent hollow of a sword reflects your vulgar street-boy attitude." Byakuya jibed. I earned a new respect, but also a new grudge, for the rich bas-  
"I told you to stop cussing! Damnit Byakuya, stop encouraging him!"  
"_Hypocrate. Ya jus' cussed yerself. Maybe he's right, jus; accept tha' ya can't escape yer nature king. After all, aren't we really jus' two halves of tha same soul? Er, two thirds countin' old man Juha."_  
"Anata no seikō, uma."  
_"'F' ya ta, king._" I cackled.

A/N: This is only the start of the memories. There will be a little bit of a love triangle coming up, maybe you'll all like it.


End file.
